Hadash-Ta’al co-chairman Ayman Odeh responded to Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit’s decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery in the Bezeq-Walla Affair by saying that he should be put in prison.
“Netanyahu’s incitement against the Arab population, his branding the Left traitors and his divisiveness were all intended to distract from his corruption,” Odeh said. “Bibi’s top priority is only himself, certainly not the citizens.”
Labor leader Avi Gabbay said the time had come for Netanyahu to resign. He pleaded with him to not run his legal battle from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Netanyahu brings shame upon the State of Israel,” Gabbay said. “He is destroying everything in order to save himself. The citizens of Israel do not want corrupt leadership.”
Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg said Netanyahu was "fundamentally corrupt and subordinated the entire public system to his own political survival."
Former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert also called upon Netanyahu to resign.
"Netanyahu no longer has the moral authority to continue to lead Israel even for one more day," Barak wrote on Twitter. "His behavior stains Israel and himself. If he continues to remain stuck to his chair, he will end up in prison for many years."
The Union of Right-wing Parties defended Netanyahu, saying hat “Every man, including Netanyahu, is innocent until proven guilty.” The bloc of Bayit Yehudi, National Union and Otzma Yehudit said it would still recommend Netanyahu to form the government, despite Mandelblit’s decision.
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, who has been acquitted in multiple criminal investigations, said that “only the courts have the right to determine guilt or innocence.”
The New Right, Shas and United Torah Judaism also announced that they would still recommend that Netanyahu form the next government.
Otzma Yehudit accused Mandelblit of trying to overthrow Netanyahu.
The only right-wing MK who said Netanyahu should leave office was Oren Hazan, who left Likud after he did not win a realistic slot and is running at the helm of the Tzomet party.